Protector
by LordofAmus
Summary: A man is brutally murdering people and it's up to Ludwig to solve the case. What will happen when the murders start happening to the people that Ludwig cares about?
1. Chapter 1

**Protector. Chapter 1**

**A/N:** Yay! My second Hetalia story! I've been planning this one for a while so there shouldn't be too many gaps. If you haven't already, read my other Hetalia story called Lost. It's also a GerIta. I seriously forget how I got this idea. I think it was in Latin class sed nescio (means 'but I don't know') There should be action in every chapter. I think there will be between 5-7 chapters. Anyway, make sure you review! I'd love you! Oh and no songs for this one. Sorry if you liked that. I will do it however if you want me too!

**Disclaimer:** Hikari does not own or claim to own Hetalia or any of its characters.

_Ludwig's POV_

A loud ring jarred Ludwig from his sleep. He forced his eyes open and rapidly blinked the sleepiness out. He tiredly sat up, the bed groaning in protest to his weight shift, and clamped his calloused hand over the phone. He put the phone to his ear.

"Hello." he groaned into the phone. His baritone voice was monotone and muffled with sleep.

"Detective Ludwig?" the voice on the other end asked.

"Ja." Ludwig answered. He held in a groan. He loved his job as a homicide investigator but one thing he despised was being woken up in the middle of the night to look at a stinky corpse of some pour dead soul.

"We have a homicide. A young man; Caucasian with a multiple stab wounds to the torso." the other voice explained. As Ludwig's mind started to function again, Ludwig quickly recognized the voice as the chief, Alfred Jones.

"Alright. What's the address and I'll be right over?" Ludwig asked. In the dark his hand grazed over the desk before he found the note pad and pen that he kept beside the bed for notes when he got calls in the middle of the night.

Alfred read off the address the victim was at. Ludwig's hand flew as he scribbled the address down quickly.

"Alright. I'll see you soon." Ludwig replied. The chief bid him good bye and hung up.

Ludwig sighed and ran a hand through short blond locks. He hated this part of his job not because of seeing dead people day in and day out but because he forced his long time boyfriend to wake up to an empty bed.

Had he been dating someone else he doubted he would even be in a relationship. His boyfriend, Feliciano Vargas, understood everything about him and encouraged him. Even the things he didn't get, he was still supportive of him. Feliciano worked as a cook for a popular Italian restaurant near Times Square. He too worked long hours which made Ludwig not feel as guilty about leaving in the middle of the night. Ripping the page with the address written down off the tablet Ludwig quickly wrote another note:

'Dear Feli, Had to leave to investigate a murder. There is left over pasta in the fridge to warm up. I'll be home as soon as I can. Love, Ludwig.'

Satisfied with his letter, Ludwig got out of the bed being careful as to not wake Feliciano up. Luckily, Feliciano was a heavy sleeper. He had over slept the alarm countless times, requiring for a second alarm, and had never once woken up because of a phone call.

Ludwig crossed the bedroom to where his dresser was. He threw on his formal clothing. He tucked his badge into his pocket for save keeping and quietly left.

He walked to his car in the car garage at a brisk pace. He got in and turned on the car. A piece of paper caught his attention. On the dash was a small post-it note. Ludwig picked it off the dash, his eyes skimming over the paper.

'Have a great day! Love Feli.'

Beside his boyfriends name was a small heart and a smiley face. Ludwig blushed and carefully tucked the note into his breast pocket for safe keeping.

He drove to the address he was given. He was assured that he was at the right place by the flashing police lights illuminating the night sky and police tape standing out prominently in the darkness.

He parked his car and strode to the door. On the door stoop was a crying woman and a shocked couple. That was once of the must unpleasant parts of jobs; dealing with grief stricken families. Fortunately, he didn't have to tell family members that their loved one was dead too often. More often he got to tell them that the killer had been found and was behind bars.

He flashed his badge to an officer by the door without a pause and walked into the apartment. The lobby was crowded with other officers and residents. Ludwig knew a few of the offers in the room but none of the residents.

"Detective Bielschmidt!" a voice called. Ludwig turned to his name and saw Chief Jones waving to him by the stairs. Ludwig hurried to greet his boss.

"The victim is on the third floor. The door is open and Detective Honda is already there." Alfred informed him. Ludwig nodded. He hurried up the stairs to the third floor and went through the door that took him to the apartment hallway.

Glancing down the hallway, Ludwig located the room where the victim was. As he neared, his partner, Kiku Honda, stepped into the hallway. He caught sight of Ludwig and just sighed.

"You're going to want to see this. It's brutal." Kiku said. He was a short man of Japanese descent. He had cropped black hair and dark brown eyes. He was very intelligent and keen on details. His words were few but they spoke with dictation and confidence.

Ludwig braced himself for the carnage that was inside the doorway. The smell of death and blood emanated from the apartment to Ludwig's spot in the hallway.

"Let's get this over with." Ludwig said to himself. He took a breath of air. It wasn't fresh but it was as fresh as he was going to get.

Upon entering the room Ludwig was met with the sight of blood. Blood was streaked across the pale walls, looking like a bright red paint.  
>Small puddles of scarlet blood had gathered on the carpet. The smell of iron blood flooded Ludwig's nostrils, causing his stomach to churn uncertainly.<p>

Kiku came up beside him, his expression unreadable, "The body's in the bed room."

The two men walked side by side to the bedroom where the horrible scent grew stronger. Lying near the window on their back was the body. The person was male but had shoulder length curly blond hair and wore silk sleeping clothes.

As Ludwig moved closer, he could see a pool blood underneath the man and multiple wounds on his chest.

The mans face was frozen in a scream of agony, his blue eyes wide and staring at the ceiling and his arms had been stretched towards the window- his last chance at escape from his gruesome fate.

"Francis Bonnefoy, 27 year old male, just moved from Paris, France, upcoming artist with a clean record." Kiku recited.

Ludwig knelt down, resisting the earge to gag, and pulled on a pair of gloves. He pulled what was remaining of an expensive silk night shirt off of the mans chest and examined the wounds.

His chest was littered with deep scratches and a few stab wounds, mostly shallow with an exception one in the mans chest. Whoever had killed the man didn't do it quick and had wanted it to be painful.

Glancing around the room Ludwig put the scene into play, "The intruder, our man, entered the bedroom and Mr. Bonnefoy here woke up. Judging by the amount of blood on the bed, I say he cut Mr. Bonnefoy a few times. Mr. Bonnefoy managed to run to the hallway but our man pushed him into the wall judging to the blood directly across the door. He then proceeded to drag him across the wall, creating the streaks of blood before finally throwing him on the ground and stabbing him, creating the shallower wounds. Mr. Bonnefoy here made a last ditch effort to his room where his closest escape i.e. the window was. Our man knocked him to his back and made the fatal stab wound in his chest." Ludwig concluded.

Everyone was silent as they played the events in their mind. It made sense.

"Has the weapon been found?" Ludwig asked. Kiku shook his head.

"No clues were found in the apartment." Kiku said. Ludwig sighed and looked back to the body. Something about the mans eyes gave him the creeps. Maybe it was the way that they were open and so wide. He looked back at the silk still in his hands and noticed some paper.

He plucked the paper out of the pocket and examined it. It was the size of a business but it was blank except for the letters '112224'.

Ludwig's eyebrows knitted together. Kiku looked over his shoulder.

"Do you believe that maybe it's a note from the killer?" Kiku asked. Ludwig shrugged.

"It could be. It's too short to be a phone number and there's no name or address. Maybe it's a code." Ludwig thought aloud.

A person came up with an evidence bag. Ludwig carefully tucked the card inside it and stood up.

"Alright. How about we get a full autopsy on this guy in case we missed anything." Ludwig said.

As paramedics put the body of Francis Bonnefoy into a body bag, Ludwig looked around the house. The only rooms that had been disturbed had been the rooms that Francis and the intruder had wrestled in. Ludwig had to give it to Francis; he had been strong to fight with stab wounds.

Ludwig thought more of the victim. The poor man had just moved to America and gets murdered without even being in his new home for a week. This struck home to Ludwig considering both him and his boyfriend was foreigners. He didn't want to think of his sweet Feliciano getting hurt much less killed. He himself had moved with his brother from Germany and Feliciano had moved from Italy. Poor Feliciano had come alone for business but had decided to move to America permanently after he visited New York and met Ludwig.

Being reminded of his boyfriend Ludwig remembered that it was Feliciano's first day off in a while. Feliciano hardly ever took days off because he loved working at the restaurant but he had arranged to take a day off to spend time with Ludwig.

"I'm going to head out. See you later!" Ludwig called to the others.

_Still Germany's POV_

Ludwig unlocked the door to the apartment and came in. He faced the door in order to lock it. When he turned around he barely had time to brace himself for the inevitable when Feliciano ran to hug him.

"Ve~ welcome home Luddy!" Feliciano exclaimed. Ludwig blushed and wrapped his strong arms around the Italians lithe form.

"Hi Feli." he said.

"You sound sad." Feliciano commented. He pulled away and tilted his head up to look up at Ludwig. He got an idea and grinned. "Ve~ how about I warm up some of last night's pasta for us?"

Ludwig chortled, "Ok." he said. He wasn't wild over pasta like Feliciano was but if it made Feliciano happy and if he got to eat with him then he would eat it.

"Yay!" Feliciano exclaimed. He raced to the kitchen to start warming up his native cuisine.

Ludwig hung up his jacket up on the hook by the door and followed his boyfriend to the kitchen like a faithful dog.

"Ve~ Romano called me this morning and told me he was coming to New York for business for a few weeks." Feliciano explained.

"Why don't you invite him to stay with us?" Ludwig asked. He wasn't particularly fond of Feliciano's older brother, mostly because Romano yelled almost constantly.

"Hehe, I already offered!" Feliciano grinned causing Ludwig to smile slightly. "Ve~ did you know he broke up with Antonio?"

This was news to the German. Romano might be loud and sour but it was plain to see that Romano loved Antonio in his own unique way. They had been together for what seems like the longest time. Antonio had been his friend for a while until Romano finally accepted one of the multiple opportunities to go on a date with the Spaniard. Romano had been loud and never liked touch while the Spaniard was almost the exact opposite. Ludwig never got how the Spaniard handled the Italian for so long. Maybe he finally realized that Romano wasn't the person for him.

"Yeah, Romano was the one who broke it off." Feliciano said. More news. Why would Romano dump Antonio? Sure, he acted like he didn't like him but he had a special way of showing affection. Without the Spaniard, Romano was alone. Both of their parents were dead, and Feliciano had moved to America leaving Romano with just Antonio.

"Really?" Ludwig asked.

"Si. He didn't tell me why but he must be sad. I really want to cheer him up and spend some time with him so when he comes we're going to spend a lot of time together and go shopping." Feliciano said smiling. The pasta was almost warm now so he started to dish it out.

"Ja. I bet he'll definitely lighten the place." Ludwig said sarcastically. It went right past Feliciano though. The Italian hardly ever noticed sarcastic comments like that.

"Well, I offered for him to stay but he said he already found a place." Feliciano said looking guilty as if he had lied. Ludwig held back a smile at how cute his face was.

"Why didn't he want to stay here? He should have known he could stay with us." Ludwig said.

Feliciano's face reddened, "Um…he said he didn't want to share an apartment with 'the potato bastardo' and that he didn't want to be kept up in the middle of the night by our sex noises." He said.

Ludwig blushed as well, "Oh…um…well…" he stammered. Feliciano giggled and hugged him.

"Ve~ you're so cute Luddy!" he exclaimed jovially. Ludwig blushed and hugged back slightly. Feliciano giggled as Ludwig's stomach rumbled, "Let's eat!"

The couple sat down at the dinner table and started eating the pasta. Feliciano was a very talented cook which was why the restaurant was so popular. Even though Ludwig wasn't wild over pasta he had to admit that his pasta was delicious.

"I'm going to take Romano shopping so he can pick up a pretty girl and we're going to go out and eat dinner and we're going to walk around the city and we're going to have so much fun and he won't be so sad any more and he'll have such a great time that he'll want to move to America as well!" Feliciano rambled on. Ludwig just groaned to himself.

"Just remember that it's Romano and that he's going to be working." Ludwig reminded him gently. Sometimes Feliciano forgot that it was Romano he was talking about and that Romano doesn't show he's having fun like other people. Come to think of it, Ludwig couldn't ever remember hearing Romano laugh or seeing him smile. He lived a hard life but Feliciano lived the same and yet he was the happiest person Ludwig knew.

"Ve~ I know. That's why I want to make him happy." Feliciano smiled. Ludwig smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. Feliciano was so kind.

"The pasta's very good." Ludwig comments.

"Ve~ really?" Feliciano asked hopefully. Ludwig blushed and nodded.

"Ve~ grazie Ludwig!" Feliciano exclaimed hugging Ludwig's arm. Ludwig smiled and blushed a deeper red.

"So when's your brother coming anyway?" Ludwig asked. Feliciano looked guilty again and shrank away.

"Um…well I'm going to pick him up from the air port after you finish your pasta." Feliciano said. Ludwig nearly gagged on the pasta he was chewing.

"That soon!" he asked. Feliciano shrank away and nodded timidly.

"Oh mein gott! Why didn't you tell me earlier! I need to change my clothes!" Ludwig exclaimed.

"I'm sorry! I just got so excited I forgot!" Feliciano squeaked. Ludwig sighed, hating to see him looking so afraid of him. He had never hurt him and he hated it whenever the Italian was hurt or scared.

"It's ok, I suppose. Just try to tell me next time, ok?" Ludwig said. Feliciano smiled and nodded.

"I'm going to change so we can leave. We don't want to be late." Ludwig said, "You know how Romano gets."

"Ve~ ok! I'll clean the dishes." Feliciano said. Ludwig stood up. He bent down and planted a quick though tender kiss on Feliciano's lips. He smiled and left Feliciano dumbstruck in the kitchen to go change.

A/N: Yay! First chapter est done! Updates will be slow since I'm still writing Lost and I got to write a story for English class and a story for Latin IN LATIN. DX. So, I might post those at some point. Also, sorry for any inaccuracy. I only watch one police show (Rizzole and Isles) so I'm not too familiar with stuff like this. If anyone notices a big problem or has any suggestions please tell me! So, enough jibber jabber. Please review! Reviews encourage me to write faster!


	2. Chapter 2

**Protector. Chapter 2**

**A/N:** Sorry this is so late. I didn't get a chance to write at all over the break. My iPod died and my horsie got hurt but he's fine so it's all good, yes? Urgg! I sound like a French person. DX Anyway, thank you so much for the reviews. Not too much action in this chapter but trust me there will be lots of action later on. Also, I'm not allowed to swear yet so in able to keep Romano in character I replace swear words with foreign swear words which should be obviossus or abbreviations like arse or shiz or effin'. In your mind, just imagine it's the real word. Also, my iPod broke, which is were I do all of my writing. So, updates will be slow so I apologize ahead of time. Thankies!

**Warnings:** Blood, character death, violence, mild yaoi (mostly just stuff you can imply. Though there will be a kissing scene soon) and implied swearing.

**Disclaimer:** Hikari does not own or claim to own Hetalia.

On the way to the airport, Feliciano babbled the entire time about how excited he was to see Romano again. He hadn't seen his fratello in a while. Ludwig hardly heard him, his thoughts still locked on the murder.

He didn't know why this particular case bothered him so much. He just had a certain feeling about it that made him uneasy. It was like when he walked down the road and felt uncomfortable walking past a certain ally and later that night learned that someone was mugged, or murdered or raped there.

"Ludwig!" Feliciano suddenly shouted. Said German snapped into reality and slammed on the brakes just to avoid hitting pedestrians. One person flipped him the bird which Ludwig promptly ignored.

"Sorry Feli." Ludwig said quietly, hearing his loud breathing.

"Ve~ that was really scary!" Feliciano said. Once the light turned green and the pedestrians left, Ludwig proceeded. Traffic was horrible so they were late in picking up Romano.

The elder Italian was standing outside the air port, bag at his feet, arms crossed over his chest and scowling.

When Ludwig parked the door, Feliciano flung the door open.

"Look before you cross the street!" Ludwig called as the younger Italian burst from the car. He usually loved his energy but on occasions, it felt like Ludwig was babysitting the Italian instead of dating him.

Feliciano sprinted towards his brother, stopping traffic. Ludwig sighed and hurried after him. When Romano realized that Feliciano wasn't stopping, he stuck his arms out in a protective reflex.

Feliciano easily evaded Romano's outstretched arms and enclosed his fratello in a tight hug.

"Get off of me, bastardo!" Romano shouted angrily.

"Ve~Romano! I missed you!" Feliciano exclaimed, ignoring his brother. Ludwig caught up to them and stood there awkwardly. Romano didn't keep his hated for Ludwig a secret.

When Romano's gaze caught Ludwig, he scowled darkly.

"Che palle! Are you still with this dumb bastardo!" He asked Feliciano.

"Romano, that's just Luddy!" Feliciano said. He released Romano from his hug and looked at him confused.

"I know that, dumb arse! I mean are you dating him still?" Romano shouted, earning him a few sideways glances from passing people.

"Ve~ yes!" Feliciano smiled. "You'll love him if you got to know him better. He's strong and he's really gentle...at least in bed!" Feliciano said.

Ludwig blushed deep red. Romano gawked, disgusted.

"Ve~ what's the big deal? Almost everyone has sex at some point?" Feliciano said. It was beyond Ludwig how the Italian could be so naive.

"But not everybody shouts it out!" Romano shouted angrily "and not everyone does it with a guy!"

"Ve, but you did." Feliciano said. Both Ludwig and Romano sighed and slapped their forehead.

"Just don't say things like that in public. It's not very polite and people will stare at you." Ludwig said softly.

"Aww! Ok." Feliciano frowned, his shoulders drooping.

Romano picked up his bag. "Let's go. I'm tired of being at this stupid effin' airport because you bastardos couldn't get here on time!" Romano snapped.

Feliciano immediately perked off and took off across the street, earning him more honks and middle fingers. Ludwig and Romano blushed in embarrassment and hurried after him.

Feliciano hurried into the car and was bouncing excitedly. Romano got in beside him, since Feliciano had gotten into the back seat. Ludwig calmly slid into the driver's seat and started the car. He pulled away from the airport, trying his best to ignore the angry stares.

"Fratello, why did you dump Antonio?" Feliciano asked. The question earned him a glare from Romano.

"I don't want to get into this fratello." Romano mumbled.

"Aww! But I want to know! Toni was so nice!" Feliciano exclaimed.

Romano sighed, "Ok fine. I broke up with that Spanish bastardo because my old girlfriend called me up and told me she was moving to Italy and wanted to get back together."

"Ve~ which girl is it?" Feliciano asked excitedly.

"It's Bella. She's living in New York for a few more weeks." Romano said. He blushed a light pink. "S-she said she's very excited to go to Italy. She's always loved the weather and the atmosphere," Romano said. He very quietly added, "And me."

Feliciano closed his eyes and grinned. He clapped his hands together excitedly, "Ve~ fratello! I'm so happy for you!" he exclaimed.

"What is her name, Romano?" Ludwig asked, his eyes glued to the road. He had made sure he heard their conversation, wanting to hear why Romano dumped the Spaniard.

"Shut up, potato bastardo! No one is talking to you!" Romano shouted, not that Ludwig didn't expect him not to, "And her name is Bella."

"Ve~ is that the really pretty girl from Belgium?" Feliciano asked excitedly.

Romano blushed again and nodded, "We're going on a date tonight. She lives in New York." Ludwig could see his face clearly in the rear view mirror and he was surprised at how enthusiastic and head over heals Romano was. Antonio had been one of the best guys he ever dated. He had treated him very well and was very affectionate.

Antonio was certainly better then the Turkish man he used to date that used to abuse him. Ludwig remembered seeing Romano's slumped shoulders when he walked around the apartment when he stayed with Feliciano and Ludwig for a few weeks. He winced at every loud noise or quick movement. Dark purple and black bruises marred his tan skin on his face and chest. Feliciano had cried to Ludwig about it for a while and had prayed to God to help Romano find a nice person. When Romano started going out with Antonio, who had been childhood friends with Romano, it seemed as if their prayers were answered.

To hear that Romano was dumping Antonio, who had helped him to rebuild his life and had been patient with him, for another girl was just surprising. He didn't know Romano could be so ungrateful to the man who had given up so much for him.

"Y-yes. She's from Belgium and has been to Italy, America, England, Chad, Brazil, China and Russia…and of course Belgium." Romano explained, "Though she only lived in Italy for a year and America for a few months."

"What does she do to work at places like that?" Ludwig asked. He knew he would most likely be yelled at but he was curious none the less.

To his surprise, Romano didn't yell at him though he did not look happy, "She inherited some 'old money' which she uses to deliver medicine to sick children and donates to finding cures for cancer."

"Ve~ she sounds really nice!" Feliciano smiled. "I think I remember her too. Did Luddy and I come to visit you when you were dating her?" Feliciano asked.

Romano scowled and looked out the window in thought, "I think so. Che palle, I don't know!" he exclaimed.

"Ve~ So why are you visiting New York, Lovi?" Feliciano asked happily.

Romano half shrugged, "Work. I'm only going to be here for a week or two." He said.

Feliciano pouted, "I wish you could stay longer." He said glumly.

Romano wasn't a soft person who gave out hugs or even a kind word often but he wasn't cruel, "Yeah. That would have been…fun" he said.

Feliciano giggled cutely, "Ve~ Luddy, can you drop us off at Times Square?" Feliciano asked. Ludwig shifted so he could see Feliciano in his rear view mirror.

"Bastardo, what do you mean 'us'?" Romano yelled.

"We're going to go shopping. You need to get Bella a gift and you need to get some new clothes for your date!" Feliciano smiled excitedly. Romano sighed but didn't protest.

"I'll drop you guys. Just call when you want me to pick you up." Ludwig said. Feliciano smiled.

"Yay! Thank you Ludwig!" he exclaimed.

After dropping off the two brothers, Ludwig took Romano's bags to their apartment and set them on the bed of the guest room. As he walked down the hallway he thought of the murder and the poor man who had been so close to escaping. He had fought despite all of his injuries and despite his courage, he had died anyway.

Ludwig looked at one of the many pictures on the wall. It was a picture of him and Feliciano taken by a photographer in the park. It was at night and they stood beside each over by a pond, looking across the pond and joined together by the stars. Ludwig smiled seeing the lithe body of his lover with the carmel hair that he loved and the stubborn curl that always stuck out on the side of his head. Instead of his closed eyed grin, he wore a gentle smile giving the looker the idea that he was in love.

Ludwig knew he was in love. He had been in relationships before but they never seemed to work out. They all crumbled one by one under the stress of Ludwig's job. For a while Ludwig thought he would stop dating until he found Feliciano.

Feliciano was different from all the others though. He was devoted to Ludwig and never made him feel guilty. Ludwig wasn't the warmest person, though he wasn't as harsh as Romano, but he truly did love his Italian.

Ludwig strolled past more picture frames of him with Feliciano, him with his brother, Gilbert who resided in Germany, and Feliciano with his brother. Memories flashed back at a single glance, Ludwig celebrating his 21st birthday with his brother who was, as usual, stoned. Ludwig on one of the first dates with Feliciano. Feliciano with an award for his restaurant. Ludwig getting promoted to detective. All of the happy memories.

His thoughts drifted again to the murder victim. What memories did he have? Who was close to him and who would mourn him? What dreams had he had and what had he accomplished in his life? Was he in love or did someone secretly love him and forever lost there chance to tell him?

Hopeless questions plagued Ludwig's mind. He thought of his Feliciano and shuttered to think of Feliciano lying stretched out by a window with his chest bloody. He quickly banished the thought from his head. He didn't want to think about his precious Feliciano like that. Ludwig grabbed his brief case from its position by the door and headed out to the station.

Some of the others were still working on their own private cases and some were working on the case of the Frenchmen. He went to the evidence and took out the card found at the scene. He pulled on a pair of gloves and got some tweezers so he didn't have to touch it more then he had to. He examined the card and looked at the numbers, trying to decipher what it meant. He looked at the numbers and put it in correspondence with the alphabet.

"Aabbbd?" Ludwig read aloud looking at his paper. He tried unscrambling to see if there was a secret message but couldn't think of anything. He sighed and put it into Google to see what came up. He glanced down near the bottom of the page and saw a link for a Mon Cheri dress website. (A/N: the dress part is real. Anything beyond this part is made up)

Ludwig clicked on the link and browsed the website. He saw that it was for a dress shop in New York. It was owned by a Russian named Ivan Braginski who had started out making dresses for his sisters to wear. The website provided Ludwig with a picture of the large Russian beside his sisters, one with huge breasts and another wearing a death glare.

Something about the Russian seemed familiar. He ran his name through a data base and looked into his file. Ivan had several arrests and a few days jail time for public drunkenness, unruly conduct, and several harassment complaints. For his picture, the Russian wore a sweet smile. It gave Ludwig the creeps to look at the man. He could easily imagine him killing Francis Bonnefoy.

He printed out the Russians file and took his notes to Kiku's office. He knocked on the open door and stepped inside. His black haired friend turned to face him.

"Oh, Konnichi wa, Ludwig-san." He said. He stood up from his chair and bent over at the waist. Ludwig nodded awkwardly.

"I got a suspect." He said. He set the paper on the desk. Kiku glanced at them, scanning the page, "I put the numbers into Google and came up with a link to his dress shop." Ludwig said.

"That seems a little obvious, don't you think?" Kiku asked looking up. Ludwig shrugged.

"Ever hear those dumb criminal's stories?" he asked. Kiku allowed a small smile knowingly.

"Good point." Kiku joked lightly.

"Have you found anything else?" Ludwig asked, leaning against the desk.

Kiku sighed and shook his head, "We've found nothing. It was as if the person was a ghost. No print or weapons or witnesses. Nada. We have no suspects…until now. This might be a good place to start. From the looks of his file, he might have been able to commit a crime like this." Kiku said.

Ludwig sighed, "I must admit, this particular case seems different. Something about the victim and the lack of clues…" Ludwig said, "I'm getting a bad feeling."

Kiku nodded in agreement, "I agree with you. It's not a normal case." Kiku said, "I feel bad for that poor man. His family didn't think they'd be saying good bye to him forever." He said.

Ludwig sighed. He wanted to avoid the subject. He kept seeing flashes of Feliciano lying on his back with a man with a knife on top of him, "I'm going to head back to work. I'm going to talk to Yao." He said.

Kiku nodded, sitting back down, "Ok. I think he just finished the autopsy." He said. Ludwig sighed and waved good bye. Kiku waved back, neither of them saying anything else then that.

Ludwig went down the building to the autopsy room. There, Yao was just stitching Francis up, signifying Ludwig that he was finishing up. Ludwig entered the room.

"Hello Yao." He greeted him. The Chinese man looked up, startled. It was said that if he concentrated hard enough, he wouldn't hear anything anyone told him. He pulled his gloves off and threw them into the trash.

"Ni hao, Ludwig. What can I do for 'ya, aru?" Yao asked.

Ludwig sighed, "What are the results?" he asked.

"Nothing more then just a stab wound. This guy was pretty healthy." He said sighing, "Sorry."

Ludwig half smiled, "No. That's good. Thank you. Keep me updated if something happens that I should know about." He said.

Yao nodded, "I will." He said, "I will."

Ludwig's cell phone vibrated in his pocket, startling both him and the small Chinese man. Ludwig quickly pulled it out and checked his messages.

'Can u come pick Roma and I up outside of Forever 21?' the text read from Feliciano. Ludwig smiled gently.

"See you later, Yao." He waved, eager to pick up his boyfriend and make sure he was ok.

Ludwig parked the car outside of the Forever 21 store. Feliciano hurried into the back seat, jacket pulled tight. It would be Christmas in a few days and New York City was even busier then usual.

"How was it?" Ludwig asked seeing Feliciano's tomato red cheeks and nose. He cranked up the head to thaw out the Italian who looked out of place with his natural tan skin.

"Ve~ it was fun. Romano got Bella a necklace and Romano got him some fancy clothes!" Feliciano smiled.

Ludwig chuckled, "Glad to hear you had fun. Do you want a ride, Romano?" he asked seeing Romano already dressed.

"No. I'm going to walk to the restaurant. It's not too far from here." Romano said. He was buttoned up tight in a winter jacket, not being used to cold weather. He looked freezing cold.

"Ok. Have fun." Ludwig said.

"Ve~ ciao fratello!" Feliciano exclaimed waving. Romano raised his hand in a slight wave. He started walking down the street with his shoulders slumped in his jacket. Ludwig pulled out into the street. He listened to Feliciano's cheerfully babbling the entire night.

That night, they ate pasta and watched a movie with nothing eventful. Later on, they lay in bed. Feliciano was tired from a day of shopping and Ludwig had worn his brain out with the case. Feliciano lay down on his side of the bed. Ludwig wrapped his strong arms around him and pulled him to his chest. Feliciano smiled and nuzzled into the nooks and crannies of his body. They seemed to fit perfectly together. Ludwig draped and arm over his waist and they fell asleep together.

**A/N:** Did you hear MJ's killer only gets four years in prison? Ok, technically it's manslaughter and he might only serve two years but I bet you he's gonna get killed in prison…and I'm gonna be a horrible person, but I wouldn't be sad if that happened. I get really attached to people/animals and I just stopped crying when MJ's songs come on in public. Oh and I know there are some hard core MJ haters out there so if you post any hate messages, don't expect a reaction from me. Haha. Anyway, back on track, thanks for reading! Please review and check out some of my other stories. I wanna start writing some poetry and short stories and I have a few ideas and requests stored up but I'm starting a mass inventory for when I get off my lazy butt! Haha. Thanks again and review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Protector. Ch. 3**

**A/N:** Woot, I accidentally put the note near the end because I'm too lazy to write it up here. XP

**Disclaimer:** Hikari does not own or claim to own Hetalia.

The phone rang again in the middle of the night.

Ludwig groaned and forced his eyes open. He had hoped for at least one night sleep. He sat up, the bed yet again groaning in response he picked up the ringing receiver.

"Hello?" he asked trying to sound as professional as he could even though he didn't put much energy into his tone or word choice. He knew what was most likely going to be said. No one else ever called at this time except for a few choice people which meant that he would have to leave Feliciano to look at a dead body. Fun.

"There's been another murder." Chief Alfred said. He too sounded just as tired as Ludwig. Ludwig dangled his muscular legs over the edge of the bed and stifled a yawn.

"Ok. Lay it on me." Ludwig said getting the notepad ready.

Alfred read off the address. A murder at a hotel. Even more fun, "See you soon." he said.

"Ja," Ludwig said accidentally letting his native language slip, "Be there soon." he said. He hung up the phone and ran a hand through blond hair. His natural hair hung in his face slightly. He sighed, getting irritated but how unprofessional his hair was. He would need more gel…

A pare of hands laced themselves around his waist. Ludwig jumped startled but quickly relaxed hearing the familiar chuckle of the Italians in his ear. His breath tickled his bare skin, causing goose bumps to dot his skin.

"Ludwig..." Feliciano whispered affectionately. Ludwig leaned back into his warm touch, feeling all his stress ebb from his body. Feliciano's hands drifted up to his arms, fingertips gently kneading the skin.

Ludwig could practically taste the Italians sweet breath on him. He felt the urge to press his lips to Feliciano's. He turned around on the bed and wrapped his arms around Feliciano's narrow waist and pulled him close to his chest.

Feliciano pressed his bare chest to Ludwig's undershirt, his warm hands gently pressing themselves on Ludwig's chest. Ludwig's blue eyes stared into the adoring chocolate eyes of the Italians. Affection swelled the Germans heart. The murder would wait just a few minutes; he missed these intimate times with Feliciano.

Ludwig's one hand drifted to rest on Feliciano's hip whilst the other drifted up to gently take Feliciano's chin. He could feel Feliciano's heart beat through his chest, driving his affections.

He guided Feliciano to his lips as be leaned forward. Their lips met gently. Feliciano's arms looped themselves around Ludwig's neck and pulled his smaller body closer.

Ludwig securely wrapped his arms around him. He wanted to always watch out for his lover, even if it was for something as simple as falling into a soft bed. He adored his little Italian so much; he couldn't even imagine him getting hurt. He adored the auburn haired man but he was weak and couldn't handle pain. Ludwig hated to see him in frightened or in pain. It made him feel as though he wasn't there to protect him.

Feliciano sat himself in Ludwig's lap and wrapped his legs around him. Ludwig let out a husky moan. He wanted to lean back and looked into Feliciano's adorable face but couldn't bring himself to part with his sweet lips.

Feliciano's cheeks flushed to a light pink. He slowly backed up, leading Ludwig further away from the edge. Once far enough away he tried pushing Ludwig's back to the bed.

Ludwig felt guilt flash through him; guilt for staying longer than he needed to and guilt for having to stop Feliciano. They hadn't been able to kiss like this in a long time due to their hectic schedules and they both were in desperate need of a change to get their stress out.

Ludwig gently put his hands to Feliciano's warm chest and pushed him away. Feliciano sat away, his bottom lip jutting out in a pout.

"I'm sorry Feliciano but I don't have time to do this." Ludwig said, his tone uncharacteristically soft. He traced Feliciano's lips with a muscular finger.

The Italians lips curved into an understanding smile. "Alright." he said. He sat away and smiled at Ludwig. Ludwig blushed and got out of bed, quickly getting dressed.

"Another case?" Feliciano asked.

"Ja, homicide." Ludwig explained as he looked into the mirror to slick his hair back. When he was satisfied, he glanced over at Feliciano.

The small Italian sat innocently on his bed. The covers were wrapped around his waist, hiding his bottom. He gazed at Ludwig with adoring chocolate eyes.

Ludwig couldn't help but smile. He gently kissed his lips for a few seconds and leaned away. Feliciano was doing his classic closed eyed grin. Ludwig chuckled and affectionately patted his cheek.

"I'll see you later." he said. Just as he turned to leave, Feliciano's hand suddenly shot out to grab Ludwig's wrist. Ludwig turned to look back questioningly.

"Feli?" he asked.

"Are you ok?" Feliciano asked softly.

"Ja? Why do you ask?" Ludwig asked curiously. He didn't want to admit that he was touched by Feliciano's concern.

"You just," Feliciano paused to think, a rare thing for the Italian who could usually babble, "Different."

"Different?" Ludwig echoed. "How so?" Hr asked.

"I don't know. Sometimes you seem distant or sometimes you're more affectionate than usual, not that I mind at all." Feliciano said.

Ludwig didn't really know how to react to that. "Well, I guess I am just stressed about the murders. I have a really bad feeling about this." Ludwig admitted.

Feliciano squeezed Ludwig's hand encouragingly and let go. "It'll be fine. You'll solve it like you usually do." he smiled.

Ludwig couldn't help but chuckle, "See you later, Feliciano." he smiled.

"Ve~ ciao!" he smiled. He waved back with a smile as Ludwig left the room.

Ludwig parked his car outside the building. Other police cars sat indolently as well as a coroner, waiting to haul the victim off.

Ludwig got out of the car and looked across the street at the restaurant that Romano took his girlfriend to. He suddenly felt fear twist his stomach. He hoped to god that it wasn't Romano lying in a puddle of his own blood.

Romano wasn't the nicest person to him but he cared deeply for Feliciano even though he didn't show it well. For that, he had Ludwig respect. In addition, Feliciano loved his brother and Ludwig didn't want to see his fragile Feliciano have to deal with loosing his brother.

Ludwig glanced up at the big hotel. It was a newer building with lots of windows and steel instead of brick like most older buildings. The front o the hotel had a long overhang and had gold statues by the door. Ludwig couldn't tell if they were real or not but either way, it cost some big bucks to stay in this hotel.

Ludwig approached the door. Upon entering the lobby he again saw officers, employees of the building and people who were on vacation. He smiled sympathetically at a frightened looking child. What kind of monsters killed people just a few days away from Christmas?

Ludwig received directions to the floor and room number of the room. He again met Kiku in the hallway.

"25, Caucasian, female. Even more brutal than the last one. I think it's related to the murder of Francis Bonnefoy." Kiku said.

Ludwig breathed out in relief. At least it wasn't Romano that was killed.

"What evidence do you have?" Ludwig asked. He glanced inside the room to see if he could see the victim. The body was being blocked by a man taking photographs for evidence.

"Again, we found nothing except for a business card with numbers." Kiku said. Ludwig nodded.

"Let's see what we got." he said hoping he could trick himself into being eager.

The shorter, Japanese man led Ludwig inside. Photographers moved out of their way. Ludwig covered his nose. He wretched at the rank death odor that flooded his senses.

The girl was lying on her back on a blood stained bed. The covers had been yanked away from the bed and the pillow had been stabbed and ripped apart.

The girls' eyes looked fearfully at the ceiling, frozen in time. Limbs were everywhere showing that the girl had been fighting for her life. A sock had been stuffed in her mouth to prevent her from screaming. Ludwig winced, staring into the girls eyes.

Her blouse was slightly open revealing a crevice line. Stuck in the middle of her crevice was another white card. Ludwig quickly slipped his hands into some gloves and took the card out of the only non-bloody place on her chest. Stab wounds covered her body. There was no way a person could have lived trough it all. Whoever had killed her had stabbed her repeatedly and continue to stab her even after she died.

Ludwig looked at the white card. Again it was empty except for "21223114". Blue eyes narrowed at the text. He handed it off to be put in an evidence bag.

"There is no vaginal tearing." Kiku added.

"Ok, so someone comes in, pins her to the bed, has her vulnerable but only kills her. Our killer obviously has some aggression but not enough to rape her." Ludwig said.

Ludwig looked at the big bruises on the girls wrists. The killer had held her hands above her hand and judging that he needed a hand to stab her with, he must have had a lot of strength. Ludwig was even more convinced that the Russian did it but he didn't have evidence to arrest him or put him away in jail.

He would have to continue searching or wait for another murder which Ludwig wasn't too thrilled about.

Glancing down at the dead girl Ludwig observed her. She was a very pretty girl and would undoubtedly have a boyfriend or possible husband or fiancé. She probably had dreams; have kids, get a promotion, become manager of a company or even start a new business. Either way, she would have been going far in life, changed many lives for the better. She had the kind of face that made people think she was a sweet girl. Kind oval eyes, sweet face capable of a smile that could light up a room.

Ludwig turned away from the girl, wanting not to think about her so much. That was always the bad part about him and his job. He always put himself or others in the victim's shoes. He could feel their fright to see the murderer break him and he could see how much that persons loss would affect other people.

Her face morphed into Feliciano's and it was suddenly Feliciano's bloody body. Ludwig shook his head. For both murders he had imagined Feliciano being murdered instead of Francis or the new girl. The murders gave him an ominous feeling as if something worse was going to happen.

A vibrate in his pocket caused him to jump in fright. He blushed embarrassed but was relieved that no one noticed. He checked his phone quickly.

'Ludwig, I need u 2 com home. Something bad happened and I don't know wut 2 do.' Feliciano's text read.

Ludwig's heart beat against his chest. He quickly went to Kiku.

"I need to go home. Something happened to Feliciano." he whispered.

Kiku nodded, his black eyes looking worriedly, "Ok. I hope all is well."

"Danke." Ludwig said as he quickly brushed past him. He had a desperate need to go home and see his little Feliciano. Bloody visions of Feliciano haunted his mind; Feliciano with a bullet wound in his stomach, Feliciano with a knife protruding his chest. None seemed realistic since Feliciano texted him instead of calling him or 911 but that didn't stop the horrible thoughts from plaguing his mind.

He sped to his shared apartment and slammed on the brakes outside the doorway. He sprinted up to his room, his heart beating in anticipation. He had to reach his Feliciano. He needed to check that he was ok. He loved him too much to loose him. He couldn't imagine a single day without the cheery Italian much less an entire lifetime.

Much to his dismay, the door was unlocked. He burst right through the door and yelled, "Feliciano!"

Feliciano and his brother turned to look at him, both letting out a 'manly' scream.

"You dumb potato eater! What do you think bursting into a room like that and screaming Feliciano's name! What do you expect him to do? Jump into your arms and shower you with kisses?" Romano shouted.

Any other time, Feliciano would have done just that but something stopped Feliciano. Instead, the carmel haired man stood up.

"Ludwig, can you help me with something in the kitchen?" he asked. Ludwig sighed. He rushed home to help in the kitchen. Great.

Ludwig followed the younger Italian to the kitchen.

"What is so important that I rushed here for?" Ludwig asked gruffly. He was angry for looking so dumb but something about Feliciano's demeanor stopped him from yelling.

"I think something happened with Romano's girlfriend." Feliciano said.

"And...?" Ludwig said confused at what Feliciano wanted him to do.

"Just listen to him. I-I just have this weird feeling that you can help." Feliciano said.

The timid look on Feliciano's face softened Ludwig. He nodded quietly.

"Alright. Let's see what's going on." Ludwig said. He gently took Feliciano's hand and placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

Feliciano blushed and led Ludwig back to the table.

"I'm sorry, fratello. What were you saying?" Feliciano asked sitting down across from his brother. Ludwig sat beside Feliciano and picked up an already open bottle of beer and started drinking, trying to look uninterested.

"That little *itch showed me up!" Romano shouted angrily. Ludwig could tell by how chocked up his voice was that he was on the verge of crying.

"Why'd she show you up? I'm so confused. I thought she really liked you." Feliciano said, his eyes round with confusion and sadness for his brother.

"I thought she did too but apparently she was just trying to play me! She went on the date with me and it was the best date ever! I've never had so much fun! When I called her this morning she didn't answer me!" Romano exclaimed. He covered his face with his hands, sucking in air to calm himself down.

Feliciano stood up but was quickly shot down with a glare from Romano. Ludwig discretely squeezed Feliciano's shoulder.

"But maybe she didn't just get your call. Maybe she was out in the city or something." Feliciano said.

Romano shook his head, "No. She wouldn't let me walk her home and she told me that she didn't have any plans except for working in her hotel room. She should have gotten my call! She must be ignoring me! That's why she wouldn't let me lead her home! She just said that it was because her hotel was right across the street but I don't think that's why!" Romano exclaimed, "God, Feli. I feel like such an idiot. I should never have dumped Antonio or gotten all wrapped up around Bella!"

Fear filled Ludwig. He suddenly had a sick feeling that he knew why Bella wasn't picking up the phone.

"Fratello, you're not an idiot. Maybe if you ask nicely, Toni will take you back. You know how much he loved you." Feliciano said gently.

"It's not like that stupid! We had a huge fight and I kind of told him about Bella and that I never wanted to ever see him again." Romano said. He sucked in some air to calm down but it wasn't working. If he didn't calm down soon he would start crying.

"Romano," Ludwig said gently, half afraid that his fears would be correct, "D-do you have a picture of Bella?"

"Stay out of this, potato *astard! I didn't ask you!" Romano said. He fished out his phone, "But yes, I do."

Romano handed Feliciano the phone. Ludwig and Feliciano both looked at the picture of Romano standing close to a girl with his arms around her waist. Romano was actually smiling for once and the girl was laughing at something. Ludwig's heart sank to recognize the girl as the one he had just seen on the hotel bed cut up.

"Ve~ she's really pretty, Romano!" Feliciano exclaimed happily. He handed the phone back to Romano. Romano blushed. He looked at the picture for a second before pocketing his phone again.

"Yeah, she was the prettiest girl I ever saw. Sweet too. I never met a girl like her." Romano smiled affectionately, a look in his eyes that Ludwig had never seen before.

Ludwig sighed, realizing he would have to tell Romano. He felt bad that he would have to be the one to give him the devastating news.

"Romano," he said gently.

"What is it potato *astard!" Romano snapped. Ludwig went to the Italian and put a calloused hand on his lithe shoulder. He suddenly saw Feliciano's face in Romano's. His heart softened as if he was talking to Feliciano. Ludwig noticed that Romano was a lot like his brother except that he hid his weakness with anger. Romano tensed under his touch.

"What the *ell are you doing, *astard?" Romano yelled. He glared up at Ludwig's soft gaze and immediately realized that something was wrong. The irate look on his face morphed to fear, "W-what is it, *amn it?"

Ludwig sighed, hating to do this. He glanced at Feliciano who had a confused and sad look on his face. Ludwig glanced away, not wanting to see that look on him.

"Romano, the reason why she didn't call you back is because Bella died." Ludwig said gently. Romano stared at him for a few seconds until he burst out laughing.

"Man! Your one sick *astard! That's almost funny!" Romano said.

"Romano, I left early today to go investigate a murder at her hotel. The girl in your phone is the same girl who was killed last night." Ludwig said gently. Romano looked at him. Slowly, his face broke. He covered his face with his hands and soon sobs irrupted from him. Feliciano immediately went over to his brother and pulled him into a hug.

"Fratello, I'm so sorry. " Feliciano whispered. Ludwig could see the tears in Feliciano's eyes as he tried to comfort his hysterical brother. Ludwig gently put a comforting hand on Feliciano's shoulder. Feliciano glanced up thankfully before turning back to his brother.

Romano cried like a broken man might cry. To him, he was broken. After his relationship with the Turkish man, then ending it with the Spaniard and now Bella being killed, he was alone. He believed that he would never be able to find love.

It took him several minutes for him to calm down. He looked up at Ludwig, his face red and streaked with tears. His eyes filled with a fire that Ludwig hadn't seen in either of the Italians.

"Find him." He growled, "Find the *astard who killed my Bella."

Ludwig glanced at the broken man. He gently squeezes his shoulder and for once, Romano doesn't ignore it, "I promise, Romano, I promise."

**A/N:** Yay! Another chapter done! Sorry about Feliciano's text. I tried to do chat speak but I'm not fluent in it at all. My health/gym teacher gave me a mood sticker. It's like a mood ring but it's just a small dot. The dot has been black entirely meaning I'm stressed! Woot! My teacher said to try reading the book I'm reading so instead I decided to write more of this chapter while listening to Miley Cyrus (There is nothing else better to listen to!) and it got even darker! See! You guys are stressing me out! For that, you should review. Haha. I'm just joking. You guys don't stress me out. I'm just one of those weird people that are constantly stressed for no reason. Soooo, bring on the heart attack and white hair! Haha. Please review! :D 


	4. Chapter 4

**Protector. Chapter 4**

**A/N:** Ugh! I accidentally deleted this chapter instead of emailing it and had to rewrite it. I guess that's a good thing since that version sucked. Hopefully this one will be better. Oh, look up the song I Belong To You by Muse. That is this story's theme song and it's a great song.

**Disclaimer:** Hikari does not own or claim to own Hetalia.

Ludwig felt like a failure. It was his job to find and put murderers behind bars. He had done it dozens of other times but this killer was different.

Both Ludwig and the killed were meticulous in their work. Ludwig would have been able to spot any clue left behind if the killer left any. It was like horse racing when two thouroubreds were nearing the finish line, neck and neck. Ludwig wasn't even close to that though. He was the horse stuck to the inside of the rail, force to stare at the winners rump.

It was absolutely frustrating that he couldn't protect his loved ones.

After talking with Romano about Bella, Feliciano helped him to their bedroom to take a nap. Ludwig waited in the hallway until Feliciano solemnly came out.

Ludwig leaned away from the wall he had been lounging on and just stared at the sad Italian with sympathetic eyes. Feliciano looked back for a moment, his lip quivering.

"Come here." Ludwig whispered tenderly, enclosing Feliciano in a light hug. Feliciano hugged him back tightly, pressing his face into Ludwig's shoulder. His smaller shoulders shook in silent sobs.

Ludwig rubbed his back softly. "Shh. It's ok, Feli." he whispered gently. He could hear Feliciano's irregular breathing. "Just let it out. Don't bottle it in."

Feliciano sobbed louder, grasping Ludwig's shirt tightly. Ludwig kissed the side of his head. "Talk to me, Feli. Tell me what your thinking." he whispered.

"P-p-poor R-Roman-no!" Feliciano whimpered. "H-he's a-all alon-ne! A-and B-Bella is d-dead!"

"I know, Feli. You're a good brother. Romano's very lucky to have you to support him." he whispered softly to his ear.

"Ludwig?" Feliciano asked quietly.

"Yes, Feli?" Ludwig said, stroking the Italians hair.

"Will Romano ever find happiness?"

Ludwig was silent for a while. He didn't know how to answer it. "I don't know, Feli." he whispered. "I hope so."

"I hope so too." Feliciano whispered, nuzzling his head against Ludwig's shoulder, his warm breath raising goose bumps on Ludwig's neck.

"Don't get too comfortable. I have to call Kiku and tell him I can't come back in today." Ludwig said, twisting his neck to kiss Feliciano's forehead.

"Don't. Go find Bella's killer." Feliciano said, his eyes flickering up to look into Ludwig's cyan eyes.

"Are you sure you two will be ok here?" Ludwig asked. "I don't mind staying home."

"I'll be fine. I'm just going to make some pasta for Romano." Feliciano said. Ludwig's hand drifted up to wipe tears from Feliciano's chocolate eyes with a gentle hand.

Feliciano's hand cupped Ludwig's hand. "Be careful ok? I have a funny feeling about this." Feliciano whispered.

Ludwig turned his hand around and squeezed Feliciano's hand. "I will. You be careful as well."

Feliciano smiled softly. "I will. Now get out of here." Feliciano smiled playfully.

_At the office_

Within a few minutes, Ludwig walked into the station. He went straight to Kiku's office. The Japanese man was bent over his desk looking into the computer screen. His dark eyes looked tired from looking at the screen so long.

"Hi Kiku." Ludwig said walking in. Kiku's head snapped to face him as he darted to his feet.

"Ludwig-san, is Feli-chan ok?" Kiku asked.

Ludwig shrugged. "Our latest victim was Romano's girlfriend. He's taking it pretty hard." Ludwig said, sighing.

"I am very sorry, Ludwig-san." Kiku said frowning. "You don't have to be here."

"Thanks but I promised them I'd find the person who killed her." Ludwig said, "Und I've been thinking. That new card doesn't have anything to do with Ivan Braginski. I think it was just coincidence that the first one took us to that site; it was way too obvious."

Kiku nodded, "Hai. I agree. I have been looking through lists of wanted criminals and no one is small enough to be capable of such a clean crime."

Ludwig sighed, "There has to be something that we're missing. A person can't leave a scene without leaving a clue. Do we even know how he got into the scene?"

Kiku shook his head. "No signs of entry. Doors were locked, all the windows were closed."

"Were the windows locked?" Ludwig asked.

"No they were not." Kiku said.

"I have an idea. Do you have time to follow me to the scene of the latest victim?" Ludwig asked. Kiku allowed a small smile and nodded.

"Hai, I do. Let's go." Kiku said standing up.

The two of them drove to the crime scene. They parked in the alley beside the hotel and looked up at the large building.

"There," Kiku said pointing up. "That's her room. Right near the fire escape."

Ludwig looked up and counted up the floors and found Bella window. "I'll climb first." Ludwig said. He grabbed the edge of the fire escape and pulled it down. He started climbing up. The metal flanged as he climbed up and his hands turned red from the cold.

Below him, he heard Kiku starting up behind him. Once he reached Bella's floor he looked around the floor. The edges of the metal were covered with a blanket of snow except for a few areas where someone had grabbed it to pull themselves up.

Leading towards the window were large footprints. Ludwig pulled out a camera and took pictures before pulling himself up. He approached the window and looked. The window was perfectly polished as if no one had even touched it.

Kiku quickly joined his side. "It looks like he used gloves and/or washed it." he pointed out.

"Ja. At least we know where he came in at." Ludwig said.

"I'll call some guys to come and check for prints, just in case." Kiku said.

Ludwig nodded, "Good idea."

From his pocket, Ludwig's cell phone rang. Ludwig pulled it from his pocket and answered. "Hello, Detective Bielschmidt speaking."

"Ludwig," Alfred said. His voice sent a wave of fear down Ludwig's spine. It sounded sympathetic, something unusual for the usual cheerful man, "There's been a kidnapping and I think you need to get down here."

"Where is it?" Ludwig asked, his heartbeat thumping against his chest.

"Ludwig, please don't panic when I tell you this. It's at your apartment but it's not Feliciano." Alfred said quietly. Ludwig nearly dropped the phone. He was silent, having difficulty grasping the new information. "Ludwig?"

"Ja, I'll be down there soon." Ludwig said. He abruptly hung up and headed toward the ladder.

"Kiku, I got to go. Someone was kidnapped at my apartment." Ludwig said as he climbed down.

"I'll go with you, my friend." Kiku said, coming down after him.

Once Ludwig's feet touched the ground, he was off to the car. The ominous feeling settled over him again, hanging over his head like a rainy cloud. He hurried to the car and started it up. Kiku sat in the passenger seat a few moments later and Ludwig sped off.

Parking outside the apartment, Ludwig ran in. He went into his open apartment and breathed a sigh of relief seeing Feliciano sitting in a chair.

The young Italian appeared unharmed though he was crying. A few police men stood around him, a few trying to awkwardly comfort him but to no avail.

Ludwig hurried over to the smaller man. When Feliciano looked up and saw him, he stood up from the chair and ran over to him. Ludwig opened out his arms to the Italian as he ran into his chest, sobbing wildly.

_Oh God!_ Ludwig thought.

Ludwig hugged Feliciano back tightly, cupping the back of his head, "Feliciano, I'm so sorry. Tell me what happened."

Feliciano was still sobbing loudly. He sucked in deep breathes of air and calmed down enough to explain what happened to Ludwig.

"I-I was making p-pasta in the k-kitchen when I heard a sc-cream. It sounded like R-Romano so when I went up to c-check on him." Feliciano started sobbing again as fresh grief washed over him.

Ludwig rubbed his back. "The faster you can calm down and tell me the faster we can get men to find him." Ludwig said softly, brushing his hair. Feliciano sniffed and drew in deep breaths.

"I-I went up to check on him and I-I saw a man drag him out the window. It was so s-scary, L-Ludwig! He was s-so limp!" Feliciano sobbed.

"He'll be ok, Feliciano. We'll find him." Ludwig said softly. "Can you remember anything about the man?"

Feliciano shook his head. "N-no. I only saw R-Romano. I passed out when I saw him."

Ludwig brushed his hair. "I'm sorry, Feliciano. I promise we'll bring him back to you safe and sound. I'll catch the guy who took him and I'll make him pay."

"Ludwig, I'm really scared." Feliciano whispered.

"It's ok, Feliciano. I'll protect you." Ludwig said softly. "You can come to work with me or I'll have some officers guard the apartment, or..."

"Ludwig," Feliciano interrupted. "I can't run from this. Someone's been targeting us, this isn't random. I don't want protection; no one else needs to be hurt." Feliciano said quietly.

"Feliciano, I don't want to risk anything happening to you." Ludwig said softly.

"Ludwig, just trust me. I know everything will work out ok." Feliciano said.

"Feliciano, listen to me. This is dumb! It's too risky!" Ludwig said firmer.

"No Ludwig! I'm not going to let this guy hurt Romano like he did by killing Bella and kidnapping him and let him control me! I've let people push me around for too long!" Feliciano said, his voice changing from angry, to upset to solemn. Ludwig brushed his hair.

"I know you have. Just don't do it on something that can get you killed." Ludwig whispered softly.

"Ludwig, I'm just asking you to trust me." Feliciano asked quietly.

"I trust you. It's this psycho out there that I don't trust." Ludwig said.

"I can take care of myself!" Feliciano snapped.

"You never have before!" Ludwig snapped back. Feliciano's eyes flashed with hurt. He leaned away from Ludwig. Ludwig's eyes flashed with surprise, "F-Feli, I didn't mean it!"

Feliciano scowled, his eyes burning with hurt. "You already said it." he said coldly. He stood up and turned away. Ludwig seized him by the wrist and turned him around. His blue eyes were soft as they stared into Feliciano's eyes.

"Feli, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. I'm just so...scared. I don't want to lose you." Ludwig said softly.

Feliciano's hard eye softened. He gently hugged Ludwig. "I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to over react. I'll be fine though."

"Feliciano, you don't know. You'll never know. These are things of chance and bad luck. Things can happen in a matter of seconds and your life will be over. I'm not trying to scare you but please, come with me or have a guard watch over you." Ludwig grasped both of Feliciano's hands, "I'd never forgive myself if something ever happened to you and I never did anything to protect you. You don't know how much you have changed my life. I don't think I'd be able to live without you."

Feliciano's eyes filled with tears, a joyous smile gracing his tear stained face. Ludwig let go of one of his hands to cup his cheek, stroking the moist skin with a callused thumb. Feliciano tilted his head into his touch, his free hand coming up to cup Ludwig's hand. His skin was warm and soft, much different from Ludwig's harder, cooler hands.

"I'll do it for you, Ludwig. I love you too and I don't want to ever hurt you." Feliciano said softly. Ludwig gently squeezed Feliciano's hand. A tear slipped out of Feliciano's eyes and ran down his face. Ludwig gently pulled him close and kissed it away.

Feliciano leaned his forehead to Ludwig's and closed his eyes. "Please be careful. I don't want to loose you either."

Ludwig watched his face, hating to see the look of pain that twisted his peaceful features. "You haven't lost him yet. I'll bring your brother home for you, Feliciano."

**  
>AN: **Man, it really ticks me off to have to do things a second time. This version was better I think. PristineDreamworld sent me some beautiful fan art. It was absolutely amazing. I'll put links in my profile (FF) and in the story descriptions (DA) so be sure to check it out. PristineDreamworld is a wonderful artist and you should totally look at more of her beautiful work. Thank again and be sure to review! Love you all and Happy New Year!


	5. Chapter 5

**Protector. Ch. 5**

**A/N:** Check it out yo~! I got a new story idea so I'm gonna quickly wrap this one up and post a few chapters of Lost so I can get caught up. It's another GerIta but I'm gonna start writing some others like PruHun and Spamano and some America stuff. Still taking requests and fanart! Ok, byezzzz!

**Disclaimer:** Hikari does not own or claim to own Hetalia.

Ludwig personally selected Feliciano's guards himself.

He didn't want to take any chances of his little Italian getting hurt. He didn't trust anyone else to pick them out for him; he had to do it.

It still didn't comfort him.

He knew the killer was sneaky. He left a clean crime, only leaving behind the clues he wanted to be known. He was strong and stealthy, probably having a smaller body frame but strong muscles judging by the size of the print.

Ludwig's biggest fear was that the person would return to finish the job if he saw that Feliciano had seen what he had done. Ludwig began wondering who it could be that would target the mysterious Frenchman, Bella and Romano. If the Frenchman hadn't been been killed, Ludwig would have thought that it was to get to Romano or Bella but the fact that Francis was dead made him rethink.

What if it had been Antonio that had killed Francis and Bella and now kidnapped Romano? Ludwig doubted it. Antonio adored Romano; he could never hurt his fiery lover, even if Romano cheated on him. Besides that, Antonio lived in Italy. It would cost a lot of time and money to come to America just to kill a few people.

So, not completely ruled put, Ludwig didn't know what to do. He hadn't yet searched his apartment for clues so something might come up. He just hoped that something helpful might be found to help him develop a suspect. At this point, no one was innocent.

Ludwig sat Feliciano down in the kitchen and gave him a snack (The Italian whined that it wasn't pasta) before going to search the apartment, mainly his room where Romano had been sleeping. Some other detectives, including Kiku, were searching the room still. It bothered Ludwig slightly that they were going through his and Feliciano's personal life. He didn't like being so open.

"Ludwig-san," Kiku called. He handed a clear bag to Ludwig. When the German saw it, his heart beat accelerated. Inside was a simple card with the numbers '31223114' printed on it. Ludwig stared at the paper for a while, his brain churning ideas over in his head.

"Anything else found?" Ludwig asked, not looking up from the paper. He had grown to hate it. Just looking at it reminded him of the death he hadn't yet avenged and the death that might possibly occur if he isn't able to stop it.

He knew the numbers must mean something. The killer was leaving them purposely. The more that Ludwig stared at them, the harder it became. The numbers drifted out of place, bouncing in his vision and twisting and turning like a wild horse a rancher was trying to back (alternative term used for 'breaking' or as some prefer, 'gentling' of a horse.)

"Nothing else has been found." Kiki reported, "No body, no blood. Nothing."

"So Romano isn't dead?" Ludwig double checked hopefully. He tore his eyes away from the bouncing numbers, his heart starting to pound with a head ache.

"Most likely not unless he was strangled. Judging on this person's pattern, he seems to prefer using a knife. I think strangling is something he wouldn't do." Kiki said.

"And kidnapping wouldn't?" Ludwig asked.

Kiki sighed in response, "Honestly, I don't know Ludwig. Our only hope is possibly to figure out what this card means or to catch him, hopefully before anyone else is harmed." Kiki said.

Ludwig sighed, "Do you think he'd go after Feliciano?" He asked.

Kiki looked sympathetic. "I cannot lie to you to make you feel better. Yes, I believe if he saw Feliciano-chan while he was dragging Romano-san out the window then I do believe he will come back. I think it is wise of you to have guards assigned to him."

"I hope they're enough. This killer needs to get caught as soon as possible and Romano needs to be found." Ludwig said, his deep voice monotone with worry.

Kiku smiled sympathetically, "Worrying will get you nowhere. Just concentrate like you always do. You can't rush some things so just be patient. Everything will work out fine."

Ludwig couldn't force himself to smile but he did appreciate the kind words of advice, "Danke, Kiku." he said quietly.

~*~*~

(Time skip)

After everyone finished investigating, Ludwig stayed behind with Kiku and the men he had chosen to be Feliciano's guards. He crouched in front of Feliciano who was sitting on a chair. For a few moments, they just stared into each other's eyes.

It was not a romantic gesture though. Ludwig was worried for Feliciano and Feliciano was scared for his brother. Ludwig took one of Feliciano's hands in his and squeezed it lightly.

"Feli, you'll be safe here. I'll find who took Romano and everything will go back to normal. No one else will be hurt besides the killer. Do not be afraid, mein liebe." Ludwig whispered softly. He was acutely aware of Kiku and the guards watching him. He needed to say it though. He couldn't stand to see Feliciano scared or sad.

Feliciano smiled though it didn't reach his brown eyes which hadn't closed since Romano had been kidnapped (obviously besides blinking). He squeezed Ludwig's hand in return. "I'll be fine; just, please, come home." he whispered.

Ludwig smiled softly, "I will always come home to you. No matter what happens, where ever you are, I will did you and come home to you." Ludwig said tenderly.

Feliciano's smile softened, his eyes softening. "I love you, Luddy." he whispered, almost asking Ludwig to tell him that he loved him.

Ludwig, not caring if the guards heard him or not, whispered back tenderly, "I love you too, my little Feli."

He quickly placed a tender kiss on Feliciano's soft, pink lips and stood up. He gave him one last affectionate look, his heart thumping loudly to see the look mirrored back at him. He forced himself to let go of Feliciano's hand. The Italian seemed to know he didn't want to leave for he smiled.

Ludwig thought about staying a little longer considering Feliciano was shaken up. He cared a lot for his older brother and he was constantly worried about him. Romano's kidnapping had shaken the ground beneath Feliciano's feet. If Ludwig left before he was ready, he might only make things worse.

Being so frightened, what Feliciano really needed was Ludwig to comfort him rather than leave. Though the only way he would really be calmed was if Romano was found and his kidnapper brought to justice. Unfortunately, only Ludwig could do both and he couldn't be in two places at once. He would have to go and hope that Feliciano can cope the best he could.

He bent down one last time and kissed his forehead, "I'll be back and I promise I will bring Romano back soon." he tenderly whispered.

Feliciano's eyes flickered up at him affectionately. Not trusting his voice to speak he just nodded. Ludwig turned away and left quickly. If he stayed any longer and saw how frightened and pitiful Feliciano looked he would probably change his mind and stay home.

Kiki joined up with Ludwig and the two partners hurried to the car. The sky was getting darker and a gentle breeze blew, whispering in the two men's ears.

As they drove down to the station, Ludwig examined the card, "Some of the numbers are the same and some change. Maybe it's a pattern!" Ludwig exclaimed. Kiki, not taking his eyes off the road, allowed a small smile.

"I think you might be right, Ludwig-san. Maybe we can crack it together. Whoever is leaving these clues must want us to know or figure out something." Kiki said.

Hope caused Ludwig's heart to thump against his rib cage. "Ja, I hope so. This guy seems pretty smart though. I don't think he'd make it too easy for us." Ludwig sighed. Nothing seemed to fit. The man left virtually no clues behind except for the one he purposely left behind. He must have had a motive to go to such extremes unless he was planning to become the next Jack the Ripper.

Now renewed with more determination they searched and retrieved the prior two cards and laid all three of them out on the table lining them up so they could compare the numbers. Careful eyes scanned over the white paper and neatly printed numbers.

11222114, the first card found at the scene with Francis Bonnefoy.

21223114, the second card from the murder of Bella.

31224114, the newest card left when Romano was kidnapped.

Blond eyebrows furrowed. A thick thumb pointed at the first numbers of each card. "Look, each of the cards first number increases with one and corresponds with the order of the crimes." Ludwig pointed out.

"Hai, you are correct, Ludwig-san." Kiku agreed. "Only two numbers change; the first number and the fifth number."

Ludwig narrowed his eyes and compared the difference between the two. "What could this guy be trying to tell us?" he thought aloud.

"What if it was telling us how many people he was planning to kill? Look at the beginning and ending numbers." Kiku pointed at both numbers of all the cards. "The first number might just be how many persons he's killed or kidnapped and the end number could be how many he is planning to kill."

"Ok. If that is it, then who would the last number be and why would it only be four. Obviously, this isn't random. Bella and Romano are connected too much but Francis throws in a wildcard." Ludwig wondered. He narrowed his eyes more in thought trying to think of what it could be.

"Is there anything Romano-san or Bella-san could have done to upset someone?" Kiku asked.

"Um." Ludwig thought, "Well Romano dumped his boyfriend to get together with Bella. I don't know anything about Bella…" Ludwig's voice drifted off. Both of them thought over the last sentence, wondering if the reason for all the death and kidnapping could be because of Romano breaking up with Antonio. Ludwig met Antonio though. He was head over heels in love with Romano but he wasn't a killer, or at least in Ludwig's eyes he wasn't.

"Could we get some information on Romano-san's old boyfriend?" Kiku asked curiously. He hadn't met Antonio and didn't know much about him so he wasn't biased about him.

Ludwig nodded, "He wouldn't be on the files here since he lives in Spain and Italy so the only thing we'd have on him is the information he has on his Facebook." Ludwig said regretfully. He could hear a clock ticking in his mind, counting down until the next murder might it be Romano's or someone else. Ludwig still found little comfort that Feliciano had a body guard. If the killer is as clean as he portrayed himself to be, he might be able to take down a few body guards and get to the Italian if he really wanted to.

"Hai, it's better than nothing." Kiku commented. Ludwig stood up as Kiku continued to analyze the cards. Ludwig went to the computer and logged onto his Facebook account. He did a quick search on Antonio. He had friended him after the Spaniard had sent him a request. Ludwig didn't get on his account much but when he did, his alerts were littered with posts of Antonio talking about his life with Romano.

Searching Antonio's account, Ludwig noticed that his last Wall post was on the day Romano dumped him. It read; "Never before have I felt so lonely and used. I hope you have a happy life with that whore, Lovi." No one had replied to it, too afraid of what the Spaniard might say. Ludwig did feel bad. If Feliciano had broken up with him the way Romano broke up with Antonio, he would hope that his few other friends and family would be there to comfort him.

The German searched through his pictures. Most of the older ones were of him with an irritated looking Romano. The newer pictures were of Antonio with no shirt, taking a picture of himself in front of a mirror. His facial expression clearly said 'I'm better off without you.' Ludwig however, could easily see how in pain he was. Ludwig couldn't even imagine how much pain he must be feeling to be dumped by the person he loved the most.

He didn't have enough substantial evidence to support that he would kill anyone or hurt Romano. He went back through his profile. He hadn't posted any new posts but a few of his friends commented, asking when he was getting out of America. Why would he be in America? That was the only post that would raise Ludwig's eyebrows.

"Hey Kiku?" he called. The Japanese man got up and joined him by the computer. He read over the post and narrowed his eyes in thought.

"Why would he be in America?" Kiku thought.

"I was wondering the same thing." Ludwig said, "Maybe he is responsible for this."

"I don't know. Do you really he could be responsible for killing Francis and Bella and kidnapping Romano?"

"He seems to really like Romano-san, maybe he could do it." Kiku commented. "We might be able to find out where he's staying and track him down."

"Bring him in for questioning…" Ludwig nodded.

"You want to call around hotels?" Kiku asked. Ludwig shrugged. 

"Sure." Ludwig agreed. He started going through a list of hotel names for numbers. Just when he was about to pull out his cell phone to call the hotel numbers his phone started ringing. He sighed and answered, putting the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Ludwig? Oh please tell me this is Ludwig?" Ludwig was very surprised to hear a hysterical Antonio on the other end. He motioned to Kiku and put the phone on speaker.

"Yes Antonio, this is Ludwig. What's wrong?" he asked. He was so confused at all that was going on.

"I-I need your help! I came to New York to get Romano back but on the newspapers they were showing the two murders and now Romano's kidnapping." He cried. "I-I went to Feliciano's apartment and the door was open. Oh God, Ludwig, oh God!"

Ludwig's heart skipped a beat and his blood ran cold, "Antonio, go on." He told him, trying to keep his cool.

Antonio sucked in air, trying to calm himself down. "T-there were two police officers that were dead on the floor! Feliciano was gone but there was a card with a bunch of numbers as well as a note. Y-you've been the first person I've called." Antonio sobbed.

Ludwig's knees went weak. His stomach churned, threatening to spill his last meal on the ground. Kiku firmly put his hand on his shoulder, anchoring him to the floor. Kiku started speaking now.

"Antonio, this is Detective Kiku Honda. I am Ludwig's partner. Are you still in the apartment?" he asked.

"Y-yes!" Antonio exclaimed. "W-what's going to happen? Are they going to kill them?"

"I don't know. We're doing everything we can to stop them. What did the note say?" Kiku asked. Ludwig listened intently. His heart was thumping wildly in his chest. He couldn't believe something had happened to his Feli. He didn't know what he would do if he lost him. He felt so helpless. He couldn't protect him, he didn't know where he was, and he couldn't protect him. What if he really was killed? He couldn't lose Feliciano. He would take a bullet for him and do anything to save him if it meant he was ok.

"I-it said that if I didn't meet them in a warehouse then they would kill Lovi and Feli. I-It said not to tell the police or they would torture them." Antonio sobbed. "I don't want to be blamed for this. I love Lovi; I don't want him to hate me."

"Just calm down. Nothing's going to happen to them. We're going to get them out of there as soon as we can. Stay in the apartment; we'll be over there soon." Kiku calmly instructed him.

"O-ok." Antonio breathed. Kiku hung up and turned around.

"Let's go, Ludwig. We have a killer to catch." He said. "And you need to rescue Feliciano."

Ludwig's eyes narrowed in anger. How dare those people use his boyfriend to get to Antonio? How dare he kill all those innocent people and ruin those lives? His helplessness morphed to anger. It boiled deep within his stomach and making him restless. The anger flared in his eyes, his fingers tightening into a fist.

"Let's go get 'em." He growled.

**A/N:** CLIFF HANGER! One MAYBE two chapters left. Hope you like the plot twist. Please read and review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Protector. Ch 6**

**A/N:** LAST CHAPTER! So excited! I'm so glad you guys liked the story! If there's enough reviews for this chapter I might write a bonus chapter! :D

**Disclaimer:** Hikari does not own or claim to own Hetalia.

It always seemed as though traffic was horrible whenever one was in a hurry and there was no traffic when one was not in a hurry. Ludwig honked the horn angrily to a car that wasn't paying attention to the green light. He gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were turning white.

"Ludwig-san, relax. Being tense isn't going to make anything better." Kiku, sitting in the passenger seat, murmured soothingly. His soothing voice only put Ludwig more on edge. He needed to get to Antonio quickly. He didn't want to imagine what might have happened or what could happen to Feliciano if he wasn't quick enough to stop them.

Ludwig honked the horn again, cursing loudly until the car in front of him slowly rolled forward. Ludwig trailed right on the cars bumper, waiting to reach the speed limit. He could practically hear Feliciano's agony filled screams reverberating in his head and see his bloody body writhing in pain. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't allow his small, fragile Italian to be in any pain.

It seemed like a thousand lifetimes before Ludwig finally arrived at the apartment complex. He threw himself from the car and charged up to the apartment. The door was still wide open so Ludwig just stormed in. The place that used to be home to him felt completely alien. The rooms had been trashed; picture frames holding years of precious memories were shattered on the floor and worst of all, the bodies of the guards were lying on the floor.

Sitting on the floor was the Spaniard, looking crushed. Ludwig quickly hurried over and hoisted him to his feet. "Where's the note and stuff?" he demanded. The Spaniard pointed a shaky finger towards the now-cluttered table. Ludwig rushed and quickly read them.

'Come to the warehouse by Midnight or your ex and his brother will be slaughtered. Do not get the police involved or they will be killed.' the note read, followed by an address. The other note card read, '41224114' Ludwig realized with dread that the fours matched and that without the first and last numbers the other numbers wrote out the days date. One day before Christmas and Feliciano's favorite holiday.

Ludwig's eyes narrowed dangerously into demon-like slits. He stormed over and shoved Antonio into the wall.

"Why the h*ll does some person want you and why did Feliciano get involved?" Ludwig demanded harshly. Kiki hurried over and tugged on Ludwig's arms seeing Antonio struggling for air. Ludwig reluctantly let him go but glared at him, waiting for the answer.

"I-I don't know!" Antonio coughed out desperately "I don't know why any of this happened! Please, find my Lovi and bring him home!"

Ludwig growled and took a deep breath to calm himself. Kiku stepped in, holding his hands up in truce.

"Ok. Well we have until midnight so let's formulate a plan." Kiku said.

Antonio and Ludwig stayed silent but nodded.

"Ok so Feli-chan and Roma-kun are in a warehouse. We'll surround the entrance and exit and put a wire on you. We'll hear what is being said so if anything goes wrong we can get in and put a stop to it." Kiku explained.

"If they've thought this far in advance, don't you think that they'll have people guarding the perimeter?" Ludwig asked. Kiku frowned in thought and nodded slowly.

"Hai. You have a point. We'll give him a wire and hide by a nearby warehouse or cover point." Kiku suggested. Ludwig nodded in agreement. Antonio looked skeptically.

"What if they hurt one of them?" he asked quietly.

"If they hurt one of them, we'll hear it and we'll go in." Ludwig answered before Kiku could respond. He didn't want to think about Feliciano getting hurt but he had to think ahead if he wanted to save him.

Antonio nodded silently. "What do you think he wants me for? What if he asks for something I don't have?" He asked.

"If you have whatever they want on you, give it to them. Once you and Romano and Feliciano are safe we'll go in and arrest them." Ludwig told him.

"And what if I don't have it?" Antonio asked fearfully.

"Then tell them so. We'll be listening so we'll come in if you get any trouble." Kiku answered for Ludwig. Kiku looked between the German and the Spaniard. "We'll get Feli-chan and Roma-kun home safe and sound." he assured them.

_  
>(Time Skip)<br>_

Kiku and Ludwig took Antonio along with them to the station and got the necessary permission, help and equipment. They put the listening device onto Antonio and quickly briefed the plan again to make sure everyone had their stories straight. Antonio got into his car and Kiku and Ludwig as well as some other officers got into their cars and drive towards the building.

Kiku and Ludwig parked behind a neighboring building out of sight from any guards that might be close. The digital clock read 10:37. Roughly an hour and a half until midnight. They had plenty of time.

The moon shone brightly above their heads, casting down silvery rays of light to the earth below. Buildings and light poles shadows were warped and distorted by the moon climbing higher into the sky. The city sky choked any stars from being visible with a veil of pollution.

Kiki and Ludwig turned on the monitor to listen to the listening device on Antonio. At first they only heard shuffling and a mix of noises. They assumed he was walking and listened carefully, not wanting to miss anything. Ludwig was just barely able to contain his desire to run straight into the building and retrieve Feliciano. He would make sure that the person who hurt him would pay, whether it be by means of a bullet or lifetime in jail.

Ludwig's thoughts silenced hearing an unfamiliar man's voice, "He's here." it simply declared. There was more shuffling and then the creek of a door opening and closing. The footsteps reverberated through the empty warehouse ominously. Ludwig listened closing, listening for any signs of Feliciano.

"I see you finally came. Isn't it a little close to the time window I gave you?" a new voice said. The person was unfamiliar to Ludwig but a gasp from Antonio told the German that he knew the man.

"Sadiq! What do you want?" Antonio demanded angrily.

_Keep your cool. You don't want to upset this man_, Ludwig thought. He tightly gripped the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles turned white. Feliciano was so close! All he had to do was run in and he could grab him! His heart yelled at him to go rescue him right then but his brain spoke louder, reminding him that someone, like Feliciano, could get hurt.

"I want you to feel the same way I did when you took Romano away from me!" The man yelled. Ludwig's mind spun, trying to figure out who the man was. He had an accent, one that Ludwig wasn't familiar with, and was with Romano at some point.

"I didn't take him from you! You drove him away from you with your...your abuse!" Antonio shouted angrily. The other man laughed coldly, filling the car with an icy feeling. Both Kiku and Ludwig shivered. It suddenly all connected! It was Romano's boyfriend prior to Antonio; the Turkish man who beat him up. Everything suddenly made sense, or almost everything.

"The little brat deserved it! I bet you know what I mean now! After all you did for him, he ditches you for some dumb b*tch!" Sadiq calmly spoke though there was venom laced with his voice. Ludwig couldn't practically see the man quietly stewing.

"So you killed her?" Antonio asked. "You killed an innocent girl because of that?"

"I didn't kill her because of that. My plan was to have you framed and it worked no doubt. I bet the police think you did it." the Turkish man taunted.

"Then why did you kill her and the first man? I didn't know him; he had nothing to do with this!" Antonio asked, sounding tired and dejected.

"That was just a practice round to get out some steam." Sadiq nonchalantly told him. It was as if murdering people in such a violent way was a common, every day thing.

"I still don't get why you had to do it! How are you getting revenge on me for taking him away from you?" Antonio asked.

"Let's just say we're going to play a little game!" Sadiq exclaimed joyfully. Ludwig and Kiku glanced at each other then looked back to the device intently.

There was a pause before the Turkish man spoke again, "Aren't you curious of what the game is?" he asked.

Antonio sighed, "What is your game?" he asked. His voice was laced with dread.

"I'm going to take you back to where I have those two brats and I'm going to give you a gun. If you try to do anything, you and your precious little Italians will be killed. You are to shoot the smaller Italian and then turn over the gun to your precious Romano when I bring him in, but the object of the game is to make it look like you hate him and want to kill him as well. He will shoot you and you'll die." Sadiq sweetly explained. "But with death comes life and the life shall be that Romano gets to live free knowing that he is the cause of his dear 'fratello's' death as well as three others, not counting those guards that were slaughtered."

Ludwig froze. His hand darted for the door knob but was quickly seized by Kiku's hand who pioned him.

"Just wait a few minutes. You cannot think straight like this." he calmly directed him. Ludwig glared at him and tried to escape his iron grip but couldn't. He focused his attention back to the monitor.

Antonio's voice was thick with emotion as he cried out, "I-I can't kill Feliciano! H-he didn't do anything! Please don't make me do it!"

"You don't have to do it but in that case, I will personally go back there and kill the both of them and then you'll have to live with the guilt!" Sadiq mercilessly teased.

A sob slipped past Antonio's defenses. "N-no! Please don't!" he cried, "I...I'll do if."

It was with that second that Kiku released Ludwig's wrist. Ludwig had been waiting to feel the pressure slackened and took the chance to get out the first opportunity he got. Kiku was out just a few minutes after Ludwig but both had their guns drawn in a heartbeat.

Ludwig and Kiku peaked from their hiding spot. Seeing the guards looking around uncaringly they leapt from behind their cover, aiming their guns.

"Drop any weapons and put your hands up where we can see them!" Ludwig hollered. Never before had his voice been so demanding or harsh. Adrenaline coursed through his blood stream making him feel like he could climb the world's tallest building. The guards fired a few shots but Kiku and Ludwig leapt out of dodge. With the speed of a jaguar, they reaimed their guns and fired at the guards. They too jumped out of dodge but a bullet managed to puncture through one of the men's legs.

More shots were fired towards Ludwig and Kiku, forcing them to take cover. "We're never going to get in now!" Ludwig hissed quietly to Kiku who was panting.

"I have an idea." Kiki declared. "I'll hold them off. You loop around and go through the back door. Keep low and towards the wall and they shouldn't see you!"

Ludwig nodded, crouching down. "Go now!" Kiku whispered. He peeked over their cover and fired shots towards the men. Ludwig quickly crawled away until he was behind the corner of the building. Checking to make sure there were no extra guards, he stood up and started sprinting around the outside of the neighboring warehouse, making his way towards the back entrance. With all the gunshots near the front, any other guards would have gone to where Kiku was, leaving the back completely vulnerable.

Ludwig stealthily crept to the back door. Without the monitor, he was completely in the dark of what was happening inside. He told Antonio he would come in if there was any trouble but maybe Ludwig wouldn't be quick enough and, in order to save Romano, killed Feliciano. The image of Feliciano lying dead or dying on the hard, cold, concrete floor all alone haunted Ludwig's vision.

Adrenaline pumped through his veins more effective than any drugs. Ludwig was to the back door in a flash but to him it felt like it took forever. It was as though Feliciano was on one side of the Grand Canyon and Ludwig on the other side when in reality they were very close.

Ludwig, pulling the gun close, quietly opened the back door. He peered into the dimly lit room. At first he thought it was just an empty room until he saw a door on the other end, slightly ajar. Ludwig quickly checked the room and didn't see anyone or thing. He dashed into the room and sprinted to the door. Flattening his back to the wall to the side of the door, he paused to calm down. He knew he wouldn't be able to think straight or react fast enough if he went into the next room all worked up.

After the slight pause he pointed the tip of his gun into the door and peered inside. Near the center bathed by a pillar of silvery moonlight shining from some large windows stood a strange looking man and Antonio. In front of the man that Ludwig assumed was Sadiq, on his knees and blind folded was Feliciano. Ludwig's vision was sharper than a hawk and could see the dirt staining his face and the tears streaking his face. Standing in front of the small Italian was Antonio holding a gun in shaky hands. His face was also streaked with tears.

"Shoot him!" Sadiq hollered. "Do it now or your precious Romano will die!"

Antonio lifted the gun pressing it to Feliciano's temple, "Feli, I'm so sorry. You won't feel a thing, I promise." Antonio whispered, his voice trembling and thick in emotions. Feliciano was visibly trembling but was kneeling a little straighter, trying to die with as much dignity as he could muster.

"I-I understand." Feliciano told him. Antonio switched the safety off, swallowing. Ludwig leapt from behind the wall. Feliciano was blocking a clean shot to Sadiq and Ludwig didn't want to risk hitting him.

"Hey!" he yelled, effectively catching their attention. In his peripheral vision, he noticed Feliciano smile brightly in relief. Sadiq quickly pulled a gun from his pocket and fired a few rounds at Ludwig. Ludwig dove towards the floor, only feeling the bullets whiz by his clothing. Being blind folded, Feliciano knew Sadiq was shooting but he didn't know if Ludwig was hurt.

"L-Ludwig?" he cried out desperately.

"Feliciano, get on the ground! Antonio, go get Romano!" he yelled. Feliciano quickly dropped to the ground awkwardly. While Ludwig fired shots at Sadiq, Antonio ran off to retrieve Romano. One of Ludwig's bullets pierced through Sadiq's arms. Ludwig heard his hiss of pain with triumph. He made a quick dash to Feliciano, forcing Sadiq back with more rounds of fire. He was acutely aware that he was going to run out of bullets soon.

Ludwig hastily wrapped an arm under Feliciano's waist, pulling him up and behind him so that his body would shield the smaller Italian's from any bullets. Feliciano, being tied up, just leaned close, pressing his wet, tear streaked face to Ludwig's back. It felt good to have Feliciano back though they definitely weren't safe yet.

Ludwig's gun clicked and with dread, Ludwig realized he was out of bullets. With the speed that few could ever claim to possess, picked up Feliciano's smaller form and held him close to his chest so that he wouldn't jostle around and hurt himself while he sprinted to the door. Sadiq fired more shots. Ludwig could feel the bullets whizzing past him and just barely nicking his skin with raising alarm. He knew Feliciano must have felt it too with not all parts of his body covered for he would very slightly whimper in pain, sparking Ludwig's anger and propelling him faster.

The door was nearing closer and closer. Freedom and a chance to switch guns was nearing so close that he could taste it. He pushed himself to run even faster, panting heavily. He held Feliciano's smaller body closer to his. "W-we're almost there!" he whispered between pants to Feliciano.

Suddenly, red hot pain seared through his calf, quickly spreading through his entire leg and effectively immobilizing him. Ludwig stumbled to the ground, dropping Feliciano who cried out in alarm and panic. Ludwig tried to push himself to his feet but would fall as soon as he put pressure on his calf. The pain wasn't too intense yet since the adrenaline was still pumping fast through his body.

Ludwig's heartbeat accelerated. He wouldn't be able to carry Feliciano or even run. He could hear Sadiq's footsteps nearing but didn't dare look back. He drug himself so he was close enough to Feliciano to pull down his blind fold. Feliciano's chocolate eyes, red with tears, widened in surprise. Fresh tears filled his brown pools seeing the blood quickly coming from Ludwig's leg.

"Feliciano, get up and run! Quick go run now!" Ludwig yelled hurriedly. Feliciano pulled himself closer to Ludwig, wanting to find some way to help.

"N-No! I can't leave you! He'll kill you!" Feliciano cried out, tears over flowing and burning down his cheek. Ludwig reached out and tenderly stroked his cheek.

"If you stay here we'll both die. If you run, you can get back up to come help Antonio and Romano. You can still save them! Please just go!" Ludwig begged, placing a quick yet tender kiss of Feliciano's chapped lips. A sob managed its way out of Feliciano's throat.

"O-Ok. I love you Ludwig." Feliciano whispered, his voice thick with emotion. Ludwig knew that he would most likely die but as long as Feliciano lived, he would be happy. He looked into the eyes of the one person who had always stuck by him and encouraged him and felt his heart swell with love.

"I love you too, Feliciano. Now go!" Ludwig exclaimed, helping to push him to his feet. "Hurry!" he exclaimed. Feliciano took one last look at him, his eyes full of adoration and grief. He forced himself to look away and sprinted as fast as he could. He was always faster than Ludwig if he wanted to be.

Sadiq's footsteps finally stopped. The Turkish man was huffing and puffing for breath. He glared down at Ludwig with an irate look.

"You…you cost me my plan! You ruined everything!" he roared. Ludwig looked up at him defiantly, looking into the eyes of the man who was to kill him and steal his life with Feliciano from him. He sent a final prayer to lead Feliciano to safety and to look after Antonio and Romano. He spat on Sadiq's shoes. The Turkish man thrust his foot into Ludwig's stomach. Ludwig's body folded in, trying to protect his chest and stomach. Ludwig coughed dryly.

"You disgusting filth! How dare you?" Sadiq bellowed. He kicked Ludwig again and again, his speed and power increasing. Ludwig squeezes his eyes shut to keep from crying out. He would not give this man the satisfaction. Sadiq growled. "Too stubborn, huh? You won't be for long! I'll make sure you scream just like my other victims!"

Ludwig spat some blood out and glared up at Sadiq's towering figure. "You won't get away. There is more police outside waiting for you to come out. By now, all your little guards are dead and my men are surrounding the area as we speak." Ludwig hissed. "I may die along with all of your other victims but Feliciano and Romano and Antonio will live on and that's good enough for me!"

Before Ludwig could blink, a knife stabbed through his thigh and Sadiq was crouching by his face, glaring in disgust. Ludwig nearly howled in pain but kept his mouth clamped. "Don't act so high and mighty, worthless swine. You don't know if Romano's still alive and I might have more men hiding; ready to intercept your precious Feliciano and sling him up and skin him alive. Wouldn't that be a beautiful sight?" Sadiq growled triumphantly. His eyes flashed with a sadistic joy. Ludwig nearly boiled over with anger. He wrapped his hands around Sadiq's throat tightly. Sadiq looked cool and calm even though his face was turning red without sufficient air. He reached back and grabbed the handle of the knife in Ludwig's leg. He yanked it out, sending pain through Ludwig's leg. He stabbed the blade through Ludwig stomach.

Ludwig gagged, Feeling the alien object in his body and scraping against vital organs. His grip weakened and fell away from Sadiq's neck. Shaky hands fell to tenderly touch his wound. Sadiq ripped the knife out. This time Ludwig couldn't hold back his weak cry of pain. Blood started steadily seeping from the wound in his stomach faster than he could stop it. He coughed harshly, sending more pain through his body.

Sadiq laughed coldly, watching his pain with hungry eyes. Ludwig gagged on blood stuck in his throat. His vision was becoming faded, choked behind a black veil.

_Here it comes!_ Ludwig thought with dread. _Dear God, please watch out for Feliciano and Romano and Antonio!_

Just before the blackness swallows him up he heard a loud bang followed by the thud of Sadiq's body hitting the concrete.

_(Time skip)_

Ludwig had heard stories of people seeing a light when they died or people they loved but he didn't see anything. He wasn't even aware of anything. He was just floating in a black space unaware of anything. He didn't hear any voices or feel any movement. He was alone, entirely unseeing and unfeeling.

Or at least for a while.

He eventually started to hear faint, far off voices. The voices picked at little parts of his brain. He knew they sounded familiar but he couldn't think of who they were. He realized in growing panic that he didn't know his name and couldn't remember what had happened. The voices grew louder and more desperate.

"Hold on!" they shouted, "Ludwig, hold on!" "Don't leave me, please!" "Ludwig, can you hear me?"

Ludwig tried to speak but the words died on his lips. He was too weak to say anything anyway. The only thing he could manage was a groan. Tender hands cupped his cheeks, stroking his skin with a warm thumb. A soft voice spoke gently near his ear, "Ludwig, can you hear me?" the voice sounded so familiar. He knew he knew the voice was familiar to him but he couldn't figure out who the person was but something deep within him was drawn to the voice.

Another groan escaped Ludwig's cracked lips. A relieved laugh escaped the person's mouth. Gentle hands caressed his face, encouraging Ludwig to open his eyes.

"L-Ludwig, it's me; it's Feliciano. You're going to be ok now. Sadiq's dead and the police are outside arresting the other men involved." Feliciano whispered. Ludwig gasped as the previous memories slammed into his mind. He forced himself to crack his eyes open. The first sight he saw when he opened his eyes was Feliciano's big, brown, concerned eyes watching him concerned. He smiled softly, his eyes glowing with warmth when he realized Ludwig woke up.

"Hey!" he whispered, his voice getting thick with emotion. "Don't scare me like that ever again!"

Ludwig smiled weakly. He didn't pay attention to the others working around him, trying to patch the hole in his stomach; he only saw Feliciano crouching in front of him. He quickly scanned over Feliciano's body. Feliciano's clothes were worn and dirty. There were some small holes with a small amount of blood surrounding it from where the bullets nicked his skin. It didn't appear as if he was in any pain or had any other wounds but it was still more than Ludwig would have wanted for him.

"Feli…" he whispered, lifting his hand up to cup Feliciano's cheek with a pale hand. Feliciano blushed and gently covered Ludwig's hand with his own.

"I love you, Ludwig." Feliciano whispered tenderly, "Thank you."

"Feli, I was so scared," Ludwig spoke slowly, still weak from the blood loss, "I-I thought I lost you."

"It's ok now. I'm safe; we're all safe." Feliciano turned his head to kiss Ludwig's hand before returning his hand to his cheek.

"W-what happened?" Ludwig asked. "I blacked out but I thought I saw Sadiq get shot."

Feliciano nodded, "Si, Antonio had saved Romano and they both rushed out to help you. They said they saw you strangling him and then he stabbed you. They quickly rushed over and Antonio shot Sadiq while Romano called an ambulance." Feliciano's voice grew very serious then, "They were almost too late to save you; you had lost that much blood."

"Are they ok?" Ludwig asked quietly.

Feliciano chuckled, surprised by Ludwig's concern for Antonio and Romano when he himself had almost died, "Si, they're both ok. Romano just had some small scrapes and bruises but that's it."

Ludwig blinked in response, feeling exhaustion wash over his body in a wave. Feliciano smiled warmly.

"It's ok. You can rest now." Feliciano smiled softly. He leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on Ludwig's lips gently. Ludwig gently kissed back, his heart thumping against his chest. For the first time since the beginning of the first murdered, everything felt right and safe again. The two kissed shared their short yet passionate kiss, both closing their eyes to enjoy it to the fullest.

When they parted, they both looked into each other's eyes as if they were the only thing in the world. Feliciano looked at Ludwig with pure adoration and Ludwig mirrored the look.

"I love you, Luddy." Feliciano whispered tenderly.

"I love you too, Feli. Forever." Ludwig whispered back, leaning into him. Feliciano stroked his face, watching affectionately. The paramedics loaded Ludwig into the ambulance to take him to the hospital and fix him up. Feliciano rode in the ambulance with him, never once letting go of his hand.

"Merry Christmas, Feliciano." Ludwig whispered._  
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**A/N:** Thanks for reading guys! I appreciate all the reviews! Next story is either emo/depressed Spamano or some cute hurt/comfort PruHun! Have a great day and I loves you all!


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